A breakout junior season that saw V.J. Beachem take on a larger role after the departure of Jerian Grant and Pat Connaughton planted him firmly on NBA Draft radars heading into his senior season. However, he may not have made the strides in his game scouts were looking for, as his production stayed relatively constant, ending his up and down senior year with averages of 17.0 points and 4.7 rebounds per 40 minutes on a 55% true shooting percentage.

Scouts are still intrigued by his potential as he certainly has the physical tools to fit into the 3 and D role that so many teams are looking to fill on the wing. Listed at 6'8 with a solid wingspan, he has the measurables to play the small forward position at the next level, but with a relatively thin 200 pound frame, he will need to add strength to add some versatility and be able to play some power forward minutes. He may not be an elite athlete, but he is smooth and can play above the rim at times, so filling out his frame should allow him to hold his own physically against other wings.

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Although he has been a little one-dimensional as an offensive threat in his college career, with the majority of his possessions coming out of spot-up situations, he has been fairly efficient with his jump shot, which has helped NBA teams project him as a 3 and D role player. He's been a strong perimeter shooter in his career, converting 39.2% of his 582 total three point attempts. While his mechanics on his release are relatively clean, his shot trajectory has a tendency to be a little flat, which has led to some streakiness at times and raised questions about his potential to translate his jumper to the NBA three point line. He did see his accuracy dip a bit on catch and shoot opportunities from 46.8% on 171 shots as a junior to 36.9% on 176 shots as a senior, as he seemed to struggled with the added offensive responsibility he was asked to shoulder. Perimeter shooting will be his most important offensive skill at the next level and he will need to make some tweaks to his mechanics to be a respected shooter from NBA distance, something that is not difficult to project him doing in time.

To complement his spot-up shooting, Beachem has shown flashes of ability to attack a closeout and continuing to improve on this facet of his game will help him become less one-dimensional. He is primarily a straight line driver and isn't adept at changing speeds which can make him predictable off the dribble. His physical tools allows him to get to the rim and be a capable finisher once he gets there,, as he converted 62.5% of his 80 attempts according to Synergy Sports Technology by using his explosiveness in traffic and length to play above the rim.

Unfortunately Beachem can't always get to the rim as he struggles with his ball handling skills with a defender in front of him. He settles for off balance floaters while trying to pivot past the defender after he picks up his dribble as he lacks the advanced ball-handling moves to create space in traffic. He can be a soft finisher around the basket as he looks to avoid contact with his 2.4 free throw attempts per 40 minutes ranking fourth lowest among NCAA players in our top 100. He's also struggled to create for his teammates off the dribble, posting just 1.0 assists per 40 minutes, as he puts his head down as he attacks the rim in a straight line, which limits his vision and ability to see his open teammates. Beachem will need to improve his decision making off the dribble as he looks unsure of himself when met by a defender in front of him. He certainly has the athletic tools to finish efficiently at the rim and is a blossoming pull-up shooter (34% on jump shots off the dribble according to Synergy Sports Technology) so becoming more assertive and decisive should help him become a more well-rounded scorer. There are question marks about whether that is in his nature, though, as he can be extremely passive for long stretches and often looks content just floating around and blending in on both ends of the floor.

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When Beachem is engaged defensively, he looks like a versatile wing defender, as he moves his feet well laterally to stay in front of his man and uses his wingspan to close down driving lanes and create turnovers. He can use his length to wreak havoc when he wants to, blocking 1.2 shots per 40 minutes while also creating 1.1 steals per 40 minutes. If he is able to bulk up and handle the physicality of bigger forwards, he could bring the lineup flexibility coaches crave by being able to switch nearly every screen and guard multiple positions for extended stretches.

However, Beachem's defensive impact hasn't always matched his potential, and there are some major questions about his ability to hold his own here at the next level. There are too many possessions where Beachem's intensity level is too casual or simply nonexistent, allowing himself to coast on that side of the floor. He fails to pressure the ball, let's himself get beat off the dribble and shies away from physical contact, which allows his man free looks at the rim. He doesn't like to mix it up on the glass and averaged only 4.0 defensive rebounds per 40 minutes, one of the lowest marks among small forwards in our top 100. He wasn't able to exert his will physically as much as scouts likely wanted to see as a senior, and he will need to find a higher level of intensity competing against NBA players if he wants to make an impact when he sees the floor.

Beachem hasn't always embraced the moment and stepped up when his team needed a big play on either end of the court, and he will need to prove he can deal with physical play at the next level. Scouts have some concerns about the level of toughness and intensity he would bring to a 3 and D role and he will need to show he has the mental makeup to accept that role and survive in the face of adversity.

His athletic tools and his well-defined potential role at the next level makes Beachem a decent bet to hear his name called on draft night, especially once he goes through the pre-draft workout setting, where he should excel. Although he is already 22, he has only been a full-time collegiate player for two seasons and a NBA team will be hoping to unlock some untapped potential to turn him into a valuable rotation player.

After a promising junior year, shooting 44% for 3, many scouts hoped V.J. Beachem would take the next step in his development and emerge as somewhat of a go-to guy for Notre Dame. That has yet to happen, as Beachem has often looked content fading in and out of games, operating strictly as a spot up shooter, but unfortunately only making 38% of his attempts this season. Scouts want to see a little more fire out of Beachem on both ends of the floor, and here in the NCAA Tournament would be a good place to start, in a game where he'll have a significant talent advantage against Princeton.

After playing a fairly minor role in his first two seasons of college basketball, V.J. Beachem will likely be asked to step up as an upperclassman for Notre Dame, with the graduations of Pat Connaughton and Jerian Grant, leaving a clear-cut hole at the small forward (and small-ball power forward) position for Beachem to slide into.

Every bit of the 6-8 (possibly taller), 200 pounds he's listed at, Beachem has excellent size for the wing, the position he looks best suited for long-term. He has very long arms on top of that, and a lanky, underdeveloped frame that should continue to fill out nicely on time. Beachem is a smooth and fluid athlete who looks nowhere close to his full potential physically. He has nice quickness, covers ground well, has some ability to rise up impressively off two feet, and may continue to get even more explosive in time as he matures physically.

Beachem was sparsely used as a freshman (229 total minutes in Notre Dame's 32 games), but had some nice moments as a sophomore in ACC play before getting lost in the shuffle of a shortened rotation towards the end of the season. His 41.6% 3-point percentage last year is impressive considering he stands 6-8, and he also hit 55% of his 2-point attempts in the rare occasion he elected to venture inside the arc.

The numbers in the boxscore tell a pretty accurate story of Beachem's role for Notre Dame last season, with 70% of his field goal attempts coming on 3-pointers. He took far more 3s (101) than he did 2-point and free throw attempts combined (74), as he was mostly asked to spot-up on the perimeter and space the floor as a cog in Notre Dame's high-powered offense.

Beachen is a lights out shooter with his feet set, making 43% of his catch and shoot jumpers last season. He has good footwork and both a high and quick release, being capable of adding in a little fade to make things even more difficult on the defense, without losing his balance or rhythm. He shows some potential coming off screens, and has deep range on his smooth and effortless looking jumper.

Beachem wasn't asked to do much with the ball in his hands last year, which makes sense considering he's a fairly rudimentary ball-handler who struggles to change speeds or directions with the ball. His lack of strength is a factor here as well, as he gets knocked off his spot fairly easily and is susceptible to having the ball stripped away from him. Getting stronger will help here, as will adding a degree of toughness, as he isn't always able to finish through contact in traffic.

With that said, Beachem shows some potential to emerge as more than just a spot-up shooter. For one, he was very effective pulling up off the dribble in small doses when chased off the 3-point line, being capable of rising up and getting a shot off impressively with his size and high release point. He also shows a solid first step and very long strides on his drives attacking closeouts en route to the basket, and has the explosiveness needed to play above the rim. He wasn't always aggressive enough exploring these situations, and hence only got to the free throw line 29 times last year, but may have some untapped potential here as his role expands.

Beachem also has a solid basketball IQ. He doesn't generate a huge amount of assists, which makes sense considering his role, but did show some flashes moving the ball along the perimeter, or entering it into the post. He committed just 18 turnovers in 483 minutes, or one every 27 minutes he was on the floor, and posted a 62% true shooting percentage, which is excellent.

Defensively, there is some room to grow here as well. His size, length and ability to cover ground is very intriguing, as he's capable of getting in a low stance and moving his feet fairly well, and had some really nice possessions contesting shots on the perimeter last year. With that said, Beachem needs to get significantly stronger, tougher and more experienced to be more than just a tease on this end of the floor. He'll get posted up at times, will struggle fighting through screens, and doesn't always look like he's operating at full intensity. The fact that he barely generates any rebounds (4), steals (.7) or blocks (.7) on a per-40 basis is certainly not a feather in his cap.

While Beachem's production in his first two seasons of college basketball were nothing to write home about, he showed enough flashes of potential to keep you intrigued about how he might look with future development. With more minutes and a bigger role likely in store, we should learn quite a bit more about how good of a player and prospect Beachem actually is.